So Darkness I Became
by lyviel
Summary: Arlys had been betrayed by those closest to her and while she had had her revenge, she still couldn't move on. When an enemy from her past returns she will be forced to decide what is worth fighting for and what should be left in the ashes of her past.
1. Chapter 1

Arlys was restless, pacing back and forth with quick agitated movements, a message clenched tightly in her hands. After… Well, after everything, she had become more vicious, battle becoming a necessity instead of reveling in it like she used to, but Quinn had never seen her like this. Something had happened and it was unsettling to see her so rattled. Quinn turned back to his datapad, pushing the concern he felt aside. He couldn't think about that right now. He needed to focus on the work at hand. He did not like mysterious messages and it vexed him that he couldn't find the source.

"Could be a trap," Pierce said, breaking the silence.

"Good, I welcome the fight," Arlys snarled, crumpling the message in her hand and burning it to ashes.

Usually she immediately passed messages to one of them to handle, but this time she hadn't shown it to anyone. She had simply returned from the space station with it and demanded they leave at once. They were all wise enough not to ask for details. She would fill them in if she wanted them to know.

"Master, please allow me to accompany you," Jaesa said.

Quinn glanced up and Jaesa caught his eyes. Clearly she was concerned about this as well. None of them had ever seen Arlys appear so agitated. Vette poked her head hesitantly into the room.

"We're docking on the Nar Shadaa space station now," Vette said, flinching when Arlys spun around to face her.

"Finally," Arlys said with a sneer. "Come, Jaesa. I feel the need to create some carnage."  
Broonmark looked disappointed, but he and Peirce went to see them off. Quinn continued frantically searching through every docking log or courier receipt he could find hoping it would lead to something. Vette peered over his shoulder.

"Figure out what that note is yet?" she asked.

He didn't bother responding and continued to swipe through announcements and notices. Suddenly Vette's hand shot out, pointing at something he had already moved passed.

"There!" she said, swiping back a few articles until it came to rest on an advert for an auction. It didn't look particularly special, but she pointed at a ring among the pile of artifacts and jewelry. "That belonged to her first master," Vette said, pointing to a ring. "She killed him and brought his hand to Darth Baras. It was sort of like her initiation. He let her keep the ring, but she dumped it after we left Korriban. The only time I've actually seen her feel bad about killing someone."

Arlys wasn't exactly one to have regrets, let alone advertise them. She hadn't even told Quinn about this. If someone had sent her a notice of this auction to draw her out and manipulate her, this was definitely a trap. She was rather predictable so of course her plan would be to charge in and confront whoever it was head-on. If he could at least discover their identity she wouldn't be going into this blind. He had a sick feeling he wouldn't like the answer however.

"Who else knows about this?" Quinn asked, a chill running down his spine as he guessed the answer.

"No one," Vette said. "Except Darth Baras of course. But he's dead. Right?"

Arlys was furious. Someone was taunting her, using a perceived weakness to try to manipulate her, and she was going to find them and kill them. She stomped through the Promenade, people scrambling out of her way. Jaesa followed close behind, wisely silent. Arlys didn't want to talk; she just wanted to break something.

She destroyed the cantina doors, sending patrons scattering for cover as she stormed inside. As she approached the back room the auction was taking place in, one of the guards blocked her way. In one swift wave of her hand, she sent him flying. The second guard took one look at his fallen companion and wisely stepped aside. Arlys destroyed this door as well, striding inside confidently.

"I want information," she demanded of the room.

A notification popped up on Quinn's datapad, informing him that someone had entered the hanger. Had Arlys returned already? That was odd; she hadn't been gone very long. Quinn stood quickly and headed for the airlock. Vette followed on his heels and they found Broonmark and Pierce in the entryway.  
"Vette, prepare for a swift departure," Quinn instructed. "The rest of you come with me."

Quinn opened the airlock door but there was no one on the walkway outside. Quinn gestured for Broonmark and Pierce to stay where they were as he cautiously crept forward towards the elevator on the other side. He was about half way across when the walkway suddenly creaked. Someone was underneath the walkway. It swayed slightly as the invader swung up behind him, cutting off his retreat to the ship. Quinn spun around, pulling his blaster free from its holster in one smooth motion and aiming it at the intruder. Somehow he wasn't surprised by the man standing before him.

"Draahg," he said evenly.

Draahg, Baras' other apprentice and the result of a horrible experiment to attain longevity. Arlys had killed him before, but someone had rebuilt him, replacing damaged tissue with robotic parts. She had killed him a second time, but apparently that hadn't taken either. Now, after their last encounter, he looked more machine than man.

"I see Arlys hasn't returned yet." Draahg said, his voice synthetic and harsh. "Ah well, I will just have to entertain myself with you."

Draahg's lightsaber was in his hand lighting fast, but Quinn was prepared. Draahg had attacked their ship while it was docked once before and Quinn wasn't in the habit of being caught off guard twice. He knew he wouldn't survive this, but the least he could do was ensure the survival of Arlys and her crew. He pulled a remote detonator out of his pocket and held it up for all to see. Pierce cursed and slammed the airlock door, cutting his voice off as he yelled for Vette to go go go. Quinn couldn't help but smile coldly at Draahg as he pressed the detonator. He had been thrown over the walkway and left to burn to death before, would he be able to survive a second time without Lord Barras to pull him out?

Draahg snarled and grabbed Quinn by the throat, lifting him into the air. As the explosion sent the walkway plummeting into the inferno below, Draahg leapt into the air, dragging Quinn with him. He landed in the elevator, a jump farther than should have been possible even for a Sith, and casually threw Quinn inside where he banged heavily onto the ground. Quinn's vision blurred, the back of his head pounding from the impact, but he raised his blaster, hoping to get a shot off as Draahg turned to watch the Fury as it vanished out of sight. Without even looking, Draahg raised a hand and used the Force to rip the blaster from Quinn's hands.

"Well, that's unfortunate, I was looking forward to killing them," Draahg said, turning to look down at Quinn. "I guess you and I will just have to spend some time together then. Why don't you make this easy on yourself and tell me where they are likely to meet up with Arlys?"

"I will not betray my lord," Quinn replied in a hoarse strained voice as he met the Sith's gaze.

Draahg leaned down and grabbed Quinn by the front of his uniform, hauling him up. As he did, Quinn grabbed the vibro blade hidden in his boot and slashed at Draahg's arm. It sliced through the Sith's robes, glancing off the metal of his robotic arm underneath. Draahg threw him against the far wall, the impact stunning Quinn, but this time he didn't fall to the ground. Draahg had a hand extended towards him, pinning him in place with the Force. Draahg squeezed his hand into a tight fist and Quinn felt the invisible pressure close around his already bruised throat, crushing the breath from him.

Draahg grinned. "Oh good, I was hoping this would be fun."


	2. Chapter 2

Arlys stomped back through the Promenade, the ring held tightly in her hand, ignoring the sounds of chaos from the cantina behind her. It no longer mattered. This was a dead end. No one there had known anything about the message sent to her. She had hoped that there would at least be some sort of ambush for her to vent some of her rage on, but no. Whoever it was had just been taunting her. It was infuriating to know that the person was still out there somewhere. She should probably tell Quinn, let him work his magic and hunt down the source— She stopped that train of thought and the mix of emotions that accompanied it. Rage was easier than thinking about that whole mess, and as childish as it was, ignoring Quinn was easier than figuring out what she was supposed to do with it all. There was time to deal with it later, she told herself, pulling the rage up around her as if it could shield her.

"Master, I'm confused," Jaesa said from behind her. "Was it really necessary to destroy the artifacts the auctioneer was selling?"

Arlys didn't even bother responding.

"And I noticed you didn't actually kill anyone despite the rather spectacular explosion you caused in the main room," Jaesa persisted.

Arlys gritted her teeth. "Our target wasn't there."

"Perhaps if you told me what we were looking for—"

"I'll tell you when you need to know," Arlys snarled, cutting her off.

They were silent for a time.

"My Lord," Jaesa began.

Arlys was about ready to blow something else up, but before she could say or do anything, Jaesa continued,

"I've just got word from the others. The ship has been attacked."

Arlys' blood ran cold for a moment, a sudden and completely unwelcome wave of concern for the others overriding everything else. She smothered it, like she always did, with the rage. Someone attacked her ship, her crew, and they needed to die. She was too preoccupied with that to wonder if it was connected with the auction.

Quinn knew nothing except for the pain and the screaming. It wrapped around him, invaded every part of him, chasing away all thought. It felt like he was being ripped apart all at once and he could do nothing except wait and hope death claimed him soon. Finally it stopped and he found himself lying on the floor curled in on himself. The rawness of his throat as he gasped for air told him the screaming had been his own.

"Make this easy on yourself," he heard Draahg say somewhere nearby. He was too tired to look up and find the source. "If you tell me where she is, I might even let you serve me for a time."

He was talking about Arlys. He wanted to hurt her.

Quinn had betrayed her once before. He still remembered her face, the confusion and the hurt when he had revealed his treachery. He had been selfish, allowing himself to grow close to her. Why? Because he was afraid of Darth Baras' wrath should he fail? Because Quinn was cruel enough to want to steal a short time of happiness with her before he tore her heart out? The least he could do after all of that was allow Arlys her revenge, so he had played the part of the villain. He had gloated and postured like Baras would have so she could kill him without remorse, but she hadn't. She had spared him. He saw the rage and the hatred in her eyes and he knew she would never forgive him, but it didn't matter. He would spend the rest of his life making sure no one could betray her again.

Quinn was having trouble controlling his muscles, but with the wall for support, he managed to drag himself to his feet and stand at attention or at least something vaguely like it.

"So be it," Draahg sneered and raised a hand.

Quinn's world descended into agony once again.

By the time they finally reached the ship Arlys was beyond furious, the Force emanating from her like a heat haze. The news that they had been attacked in her absence was bad enough, but the infuriating roundabout way she had had to take to meet up with everyone again, apparently to avoid drawing attention, had burned away what little was left of her patience. Pierce, Vette, and Broonmark were waiting for her, all looking apprehensive. Vette was half hiding behind Broonmark.

"Who was it?" she demanded, fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. She paused a moment, scanning the room, then added, "And where's Quinn?"

Their silence was answer enough. For a moment she wavered, her carefully constructed mask of indifference threatening to snap, an icy terror overwhelming her as she realized he could already be dead. She clenched her fists even tighter, pulling up her rage, feeding the Force and letting it burn through her all the brighter. She couldn't think of any of that now. She had to move, to fight and kill and get him back if he was even still alive, get revenge if he wasn't.

"Who?" she repeated, eyes flashing red.

"Draahg attacked, captured Quinn when he left," Pierce said.

"Where is he?" she demanded, already turning to leave the ship again. She couldn't even be surprised that Draahg was somehow back. It seemed he was destined to plague her forever.

"Already left the station, my lord," Pierce replied.

"He lured us here," Vette said, poking her head tentatively around Broonmark. "Quinn thought something was up so he was looking into it before we were attacked. Thanks to him we have some places to look," she finished hurriedly as Arlys turned that hard stare on her.

"We leave immediately," Arlys said.

"Of course, my lord." Jaesa moved towards the bridge, gesturing for Vette to follow.

"Well that was terrifying," Vette said once they were out of earshot.

"She's worried about Quinn," Jaesa said. "I don't know what happened between them, but she doesn't want to lose him."

"Right," Vette muttered. "Let's hurry and get Captain Killjoy back then. It was bad enough when they weren't talking. I'd rather not see what she's like if he's dies."


End file.
